Stuffed Peppers
by Emperor Bass exe
Summary: Sometimes the best remedy for the horrors of the past is good company and good food. Angst and Spiciness! Lemon AF! Written for the Hurt/Comfort portion of BakuCamie Week 2018.


The door opened with a soft click, the faint light from the hall illuminating the gloomy interior of the apartment with an amber beam that streaked across the carpeted floor to the linoleum of the kitchen. Camie Utsushimi trudged through, not bothering with the lights as she shut the door behind her. She stood there in the soft silence, letting her fatigued eyes adjust to the dark. It was February, and snow was beginning to fall, causing shadowy specks to drift down against the glow of streetlights from the far balcony window. The weak light seeped through the drawn curtains, casting blurred shadows across the outlines of the furniture.

Camie opened her mouth to let out a greeting, to say she was home, but the words withered in her throat as she remembered that her bae was working nights for the next week or so. She glanced at her watch, 2:07, almost thirteen hours out on the beat with Miruko. The Rabbit-themed heroine had agreed to a joint-operation with Camie in pursuing leads on the local drug trade, but only if the younger woman could keep up on an extra-long shift, one starting bright and early. For as many days as it took. The government would pay well for them to stamp out any smuggling operations or snag any clues to larger peddling rings. It was fortunate, since Camie could use the bonus cash and get the experience under her belt. She'd been wanting to rub elbows with Miruko for some time, having never gotten a chance at an internship under her years before. That opportunity had been granted to Bakugo, who'd spoken well of Miruko's policies and guidance. Camie suspected it also had something to do with him finding a mentor just as battle-hungry as he was.

Strong-willed Miruko had taken point on the operation; Camie following suit, eager to glean knowledge from the older pro. They'd shaken down dealers and their providers, Camie oftentimes exhaling an illusion of a prospective buyer or a previously-snagged higher-up to better confuse and interrogate the backstreet mooks. They'd charged through drug dens and ramshackle labs to incapacitate guards, a savage grin never leaving Miruko's mocha face. While skilled, Camie's combat ability paled to the older woman's; she doubted she could match the style and grace that Miruko's spin-kicks had.

This had been Camie's fourth and final day on this stint, having finally found and busted the local underground ring. Compared to the veteran Miruko, who'd several years more experience on the hero-beat than her and the energy to show it; Camie was dead-tired. She's waived off the powerful woman's offer to grab celebratory drinks, promising it for another time when she didn't feel like she'd collapse. She'd puttered home on her scooter, proud of the job she'd accomplished - snipping the drug trade in that specific ward by almost 70% in as little as a week. But now her thoughts were only occupied with bed and spooning with her Baku-bae before recalling of his own schedule change. She sighed then, her eyes fully adjusting to the night, scooping her commissar-style cap off and plopping it on the couch armrest before trudging to the bedroom. She stooped and groggily unlatched her knee-high boots, kicking them halfheartedly towards the small entryway. Unlatching her belt came next, setting it on the coffee table gingerly. Slowly, she unzipped her bodysuit, ignoring the sticky, tugging, feeling the sweaty pleather felt against her flesh, shedding the garment like snakeskin and stepping from it into the warm air of her home. Camie stretched, slowly, with a groan, arching her arms above her head in a pose reminiscent of Venus in marble.

Topless, she snagged her cell phone from its belt pouch and headed to bed, keeping on a lacy pair of panties she'd purchased in secret without Bakugo's knowledge. She'd chosen these knickers hot off the rack: grenade-pattern with the words "Bombshell" written stencil-style across the rear. Due to their schedules this week, laundry was delayed, so Camie had to make do with this pair rather than save them to surprise her lover. At least the apartment was tidy enough, despite their changed work-hours. She set her phone into its charger-cradle on the nightstand before slumping on the bed. She wriggled about until her fingers hooked the edge of the comforter so she could roll over, pulling the bedspread up and around her like some sort of burrito. Thus, looking like a tousled worm, she stared at the ceiling breathing slowly. The sounds of night permeated through her consciousness as she lay there: the soft creak of the building settling, a cat yowling off in the distance, the sparse, hum of traffic from the street below...

When she could remember her dreams they were often nonsense; things that reflected a simple parody of her life or people she knew. Tonight would be no different. Amid rainbow-sunset skies peppered with melted-gumdrop clouds, Camie's dream-self bounded along from scene to scene in sporadic jumps.

Here, she was privy to a press-conference, as one of the crowd - a glimpse into an alternate time, perhaps? - holding a microphone out alongside her peers like so many uncut blades of grass towards a podium where two heroes stood. Camie realized they were Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya, her bae and his rival. They looked as they did now, tall, powerful with an athletic physique that didn't lend itself overly to sheer muscle. The only differences were their hair, and Camie giggled realizing that Izuku's deep-green mop had been replaced by actual broccoli florets, lending him a bumpy afro appearance. A glance over brought laughter anew as she saw Bakugo, _her_ Katsuki Bakugo, chiseled and proud, with what appeared to be _marzipan_ hair in the place of his natural blonde spikes. Good lord, he looked like a cake! The hairstyles of the two men seemed the only thing amiss with this whole scene. In a world with commonplace superpowers, food-based hair seemed especially ridiculous - but then again, mayhaps there was someone out there lucky - or unlucky - enough to have gotten a literal angel-hair pasta quirk. The scene dissolved just as Bakugo jabbed a finger to Izuku, silently barking something whilst the green-haired hero shrugged calmly and responded in-return.

Camie once again found herself adrift in the dreamscape; looking down revealed she was nude. But that her normally rockin' body was overlaid with a glowing pinkish gradient, reminiscent of the transformation sequences used in those magical-girl animes she saw as a child. She paused there, waiting to see if the sequence would finish and leave her in a skimpy, short-skirted, outfit; or perhaps a sentai suit. After several heartbeats, Camie huffed upon realizing that she was stuck mid-transformation, looking like a flat outline with a swirl of colours filling her like mingled ink.

 _'Whatevs...'_ She shrugged with one shoulder and continued onwards, flying lazily through the rainbow-sunset. There was no ground, looking down revealed an endless expanse of the colourful sky. Perhaps she'd linger here until waking, or perhaps she'd hit a...

 _'Ah there we go.'_ Camie murmured as a series of scenes rapidly dissolved into being, coalescing into each other like a slow-3d kaleidoscope on LSD. Some were memories, some weren't.

She and the soft-spoken Koji Koda having a friendly coffee meetup at a cat cafe after a government-ordered joint mission. The large man was using his quirk to encourage several cats to cuddle her, one on her shoulder, one on her lap and a third plopped lazily onto her head as she carried on the conversation she and the Petting Hero were having.

A memory involving the first birthday of little Takeo Kirishima, the baby looking in curious wonder at all the gifts the family friends had given as he bounced in his mother Mina's lap. Camie's gift of toy cell-phones lay among the pile next to Bakugo's gift of plush & plastic fake training weights. Eijiro Kirishima unwrapped Izuku's gift in front of his salmon-haired son, grinning widely as an All-Might patterned onesie was revealed.

Another scene, this one fiction, of her Bakugo standing amidst a battlefield in some fantasy world, clad in bandit leathers with a magnificent fur-lined crimson cape, atop a pile of slain monsters. He roared defiance as more closed in, gesturing with a fat-bladed falchion and the broken-off horn of a minotaur at his feet which he used as a makeshift club. The monsters were of the generic fantasy variety: brutish orcs from a half-dozen different designs alongside nubile lamia and rattling skeletons, among others. As she watched, the blonde man shattered one of the undead with a swing of the horn and parried a gnoll's mace-strike with the blade. In the distance she could see a crowd of people marching in regimental formation towards the battle and she drifted her dream-body over to investigate. Here again, her friends and fellow heroes, wearing fantasy-genre gear and fighting their way through monsters towards the crowing Bakugo. Camie spotted herself sporting flowing sorceress robes and hefting a crystal ball where a pink mist, much like her real-life quirk, seeped into the surrounding air. The mist congealed into an illusion of myrmidons and other soldiers who sent the monsters scurrying back with jabs of their spears.

The fantastical moment transitioned to the mundane. A lazy day at a park showing Bakugo and herself enjoying frozen yogurt on a bench. Out of hero garb and dressed for summer, they sat in silence and ate slowly. The skies were clear, dotted with the occasional bird or wispy cloud. She could smell the black licorice and lilac flavours from her treat, the swirls drizzled with caramel and cookie crumbles. It wasn't every day they could just relax like this. Clearly a day off then. Camie tilted her head to rest it on her love's shoulder, spooning a dollop of her confection up for him to taste. He seemed miffed at the outward display of affection, pointedly looking at her as she put a playfully pleading expression on her face.

Just as Bakugo reluctantly opened his mouth to allow the spoon access, everything slowed and froze. The birds halted in midair, the wind ceased, leaving grass half-bent, a droplet of melted confection lingered as it dripped from the spoon. The sky went dark, not like the onset of night, but the absolute absence of all light entirely. A flat endless void replaced the summer sky. One-by-one things began to fade away into nothingness. Bakugo left last, his red eyes shifting up to look at her as he disappeared, rage in his gaze as he struggled against the shift, leaving Camie in a vast field of dying grass. There was no light, no sound, just emptiness. Then, there where the sun had once been moments earlier, the sky parted.

It wasn't like the opening of some window, instead the inky blackness _peeled_ apart like torn flesh. Twice, in-tandem, allowing enormous yellow eyes to peer forth with twisted malevolence and lack of sanity. The irises undulated and shifted like worms, pupils locking onto Camie where she stood in the field; suddenly naked and very, very cold. A gigantic smile peeled next, a lopsided crescent full of neat teeth and fangs. The eyes and mouth were horrifyingly familiar, mimicking back to an experience Camie had tried to block away in the past.

"Hi!" The voice came, not booming but of a normal volume, as if from in front of Camie rather than up in the sky. It was sweet, bubbly, and altogether cute, utterly masking the menace Camie knew it truly contained. "I'm Toga Himiko! What's your name?"

 _'Oh god!'_ Camie shuddered. It was a repeat; a vile, precise, echo from long ago. To an event that had thrown her world out of synch and cast a pall of fear over her future. That fear returned now, and her body shook with it, unable to act, to charge forwards or to run. Fight or flight utterly stalled and instead Camie slid to her knees, curling into a ball to be seated shivering on the ground. She didn't answer the voice, but Toga continued anyway.

"Camie Utsushimi, huh? You a Shiketsu Student? I can tell by the uniform. Tough school to get into, almost as tough as U.A. I tried to get into both but couldn't cut it. My quirk is pretty lame, y'see?" The tongue snaked in the giant mouth to prod one of the quartet of fangs for emphasis. Those damnable eyes didn't leave Camie as the phantasm continued. "Say, wanna hang out after school? I know this great coffee shop."

 _'NO!'_ Camie screamed, her voice shouted inside her head, but her mouth moved without a sound. Her hands clamped over her ears to futilely block out that sugary, evil, voice.

"Great!" Toga's phantom sounded closer now, "Tomorrow at seven then? I've got a thing to do tonight. Seeya!"

Silence followed, and after a moment Camie thought that the apparition had gone. She looked up from the wall of her knees only to recoil with a gasp, finding Toga's eyes and mouth hovering right across from her at arm's reach and having shrunken to normal size. Camie scrambled back, crunching dead, grey, grass beneath bare feet as she crab-walked. The eyes and mouth followed steadily, speaking again as if no time had passed.

"So good to see you again! Glad you could make it! I thought I'd be late due to swim practice, but I managed to get here early enough. I know shortcuts around town." One of the eyes winked. "You're in the Hero course at Shiketsu, right? Your teachers any-"

"FUCK OFF AND DIE BITCH!" An explosion sounded, followed by Bakugo leaping down from the sky where a jagged hole had been blasted, letting golden sunlight stream through. Fuming and clad in full hero regalia, sleeveless stylized Kevlar, with fingers of his grenade gauntlets spread wide and crackling Katsuki Bakugo reached for Toga's floating face just as the eyes and mouth turned with a quizzical expression. The resulting explosion sent Camie skidding back across the rough grass. She looked up to see Bakugo standing in the dissipating smoke. Her boyfriend's eyes shifted back and forth through the haze, chest heaving. Of Toga's ghastly mouth and eyes, there was no sign.

Camie stood, unsteady on her feet. She started to stumble to Bakugo, mouth opening in relieved greeting, when she saw the yellow glow behind him. Panic flooded her mind and her call turned into a screamed warning, but again – no sound came. Bakugo was already turning despite this. Toga's eyes blinked in surprise as the blonde man plucked the pin on the wrist mounting of the bulbous gauntlet, the barrel pointed directly at her nonexistent face.

"Oh." Was all the shade managed.

The resultant explosion made the previous one paltry by comparison, the blast so strong that Camie lost sight of Bakugo before being hurled off her feet to land roughly in the grass. Her lover didn't know what overkill was, nor did she think he'd care if he did. The smoke cleared, showing Bakugo still standing, arms shivering with the exertion of his power. A grin of savage triumph affixed to his face. "Killed you once, bloodsucking bitch. Come back and I'll put you in the ground again."

But then, rising from the smoke, forming from a porridge-like goop slithering from the ground; Toga appeared in-full, leaping. Messy blonde hair done up in a pair of buns on her head, her fang-filled mouth peeled back in a manic smile. She was clad in the same school uniform Camie had first seen her in. "Gotcha!" she shrieked, ecstatic. A blade was in her hand, a long tanto-knife without a crossguard. Camie ran forwards, desperate to stop what was coming but met an invisible wall of force, as if bouncing off plexiglass. Bakugo turned too slowly and Toga jumped in from the side his spent gauntlet was on. Rather than cling to him, the psychotic girl instead spun past him under his guard, avoiding the hammer-impact of his swung fist. A flash of silver and Bakugo staggered back, gurgling a surprised gasp as a crimson smile opened in his throat. Arterial spray graced the air as he toppled backwards, one hand clutching the mortal wound as the other reached out in Camie's direction. The light faded from his eyes as he gazed into hers: confusion, desperation, and fear mixing in them.

The blood wouldn't stop, it arched unnaturally up from Bakugo's cooling corpse like a sprinkler system sent to finally wet the dead grass around them. Toga giggled, showered in the spray, turning as an object appeared in her free hand. Camie saw her original cap, the part of her Shiketsu school uniform she'd kept for her later costume designs - the same cap Toga wore when she posed as Camie at the provisional license exam. The shorter blonde girl's smile widened as she sat the hat on her head, locking her gaze on Camie. "Well friend, now that Blasty-boy's out of the way, we can have some fun huh?" She stepped forth through the curtain of crimson rain, knife raised...

Camie awoke with a heaving sob, not quite a scream. Her bedspread was crumpled in a heap around her, the constant turning in her troubled sleep scattering it. She reeked of a cold sweat, the moisture clinging the sheets to her legs. She slowly caught her breath, sitting up with her face in her hands, eyes wide as she fought the memories and to keep tears from her eyes.

" _Oh god..."_ She managed, shivering despite the heat of her apartment. She looked to the side-table, the cobalt glow of her cell phone reading 4:42. She'd barely gotten any sleep but doubted she'd get any more now. She exhaled and snatched the phone from its cradle and began scrolling through contacts.

Talking with someone would help, most anyone really; but the time wasn't the best to give any of her buddies a nighttime call. Camie wasn't about to wake any of them up in the middle of the night just to hear her blubber on about a nightmare and its significance, no matter how supportive her friends were. But, there was one person she'd be able to talk to, and Camie thanked her stars that his schedule at least somewhat aligned with hers right now. Steeling herself, more to keep the frightened feeling from her voice, than any apprehension with who she was calling, she dialed.

It picked up after two rings, _"Yeah?"_ Came Bakugo's rough voice, not sounding annoyed - just his usual gruffness.

"Katsuki." Camie replied, trying and failing to keep her voice from cracking.

There was a pause, "Y'alright Cam?" His voice softened, almost imperceptibly to anyone who didn't know him well. A slight wind scoured the phone, he must be on a rooftop in his patrol route.

"I... Um... I'm fine, but..." she struggled to keep the floodgates shut, but knew he'd tell she was rattled. "K-Katsuki, I had a bad dream a-and..." She sniffled, rubbing the bridge of her nose, the silence on the other end of the line punctuated by his breathing as he listened patiently. "J-just come home."

There was a brief pause, and Camie knew that Bakugo was sizing it all up.

 _"Almost done with my route, I think I can check out early - it's a quiet night. If anything happens, the Skeksis can handle it."_

 _"Skeksis?"_ came Tokoyami's calm voice from the background on Bakugo's end. _"Bakugo, the Skeksis are vultures, whereas my features are more akin to-":_

 _"Is that Camie?"_ Came a third, more boisterous voice, Inasa's. Normally Camie would have grinned upon hearing her underclassman's exclamations and lack of volume control, but her mood prevented it. His voice was closer now, and she could almost picture the tall man leaning over the explosion hero's shoulder to talk into the phone. It was a position few pros dared, getting that close into Ground Zero's personal space. _"Camie!"_ Inasa continued, _"Are you well? It will be good to patrol with you again when our schedules align! We'll catch up! You and Bakugo could join me for coffee somet-"_

 _"Shut the hell up blowhard!"_ Bakugo snarled at the wind hero, his voice turning from the phone briefly. He added back to Camie, _""I'll be home in fifteen. Have you eaten?"_

She shook her head, even if he couldn't see it, "No..."

 _"Hn, you should eat."_ He scolded, _"Give me twenty then."_

 _"One of the sidekicks can pick up the slack in your absence."_ Tokoyami's voice hovered again, _"I'd even warrant they'd breathe easier if you left early, give them a chance to prove themselves without you yelling at them."_

 _"Those little shits can just-"_ Bakugo's irate reply was cut off as he hung up.

Bakugo said it'd take twenty minutes to return, it wound up being twenty-six. Camie busied herself with donning one of his old t-shirts, some metal band's logo called 'Solar Apocalypse' depicting the sun in the shape of a jagged skull biting down on the planet earth. It was too big for her, and the neckline hung off one shoulder as she frittered about the apartment, tidying up in the sterile glow of the oven light. Keeping busy to keep the vile memories at bay. She stowed her hero uniform in its padded case - the ballistic weave lining the jumpsuit had torn in places under the strain of combat. She'd have to ask Mei Iida to have a look at repairing it later. She heard the front door open, followed by a "I am here!" from Bakugo as he scraped snow from his boots. She entered the room to see him in hero garb, clad for winter with its long black sleeves of insulating Kevlar. He was without his mask, as well as his signature grenade gauntlets. Both were no-doubt placed into the bulky suitcase he lifted easily with one hand. His other had a plastic grocery bag bearing the logo of a 24/7 convenience store. Melting snowflakes freckled his sandy-blonde hair. He stooped, putting the bags aside before shucking his boots. His red eyes quickly gave her a once-over as he straightened. They lingered momentarily on her new panties before looking away as he walked into the kitchen, setting the grocery bag on the counter.

"Sorry I'm late. The store I headed to was being held up. Some dumbass punks looking for an easy score, didn't know I was there until I practically put my boot in one's ass. They _actually_ thought they could take me." He grinned wickedly, lifting his free hand to crackle an explosion in curled fingers for emphasis. "But you know how that goes. The Skeksis and that blowhard were still nearby. Got there in time to see me cuff the fuckers. I left them and the rookies to deal with the arrests while I got these." He pulled out two things from the bag: a brick of ground beef and a quartet of green peppers. "This'll take a bit. Quicker than normal though." He nodded to the couch. "Sit Cam, please. You look like shit."

"I feel like it too." Camie sighed, slumping down, resting her hands on her knees to silently watch her bae cook. While no master chef, Bakugo was good and prided himself on his work; having learned under his milquetoast father. She watched as Bakugo stripped off his more problematic combat gear, primarily his belt of reusable grenades, and stored them in the case. He shed his Kevlar jacket, leaving only a sleeveless black tee on. He then got to work, prepping a ribbed stovetop grill next to a frying pan, fishing ingredients from the fridge and cupboards. "Long day with Miruko? You kick some ass?" He asked, washing his hands. Unlike most people Bakugo met and worked with, he didn't give the bunnygirl hero a nickname. He'd done that, once, way back when he interned under Miruko. It turned out the handle of _Playboy Bunny_ didn't hold up well, and his neck was red for a week from where the veteran pro had clamped him in a thigh headlock.

Camie nodded, "...yeah, we found the HQ finally, at least for that ward. They were all running too. Tried gathering up product as she and I barged through the back door." Bakugo listened, doling out the beef into the pan, breaking it apart with a spatula.

"Hm. And?" He now cleaned and cut the peppers before methodically removing the seeds.

She shrugged, "Kinda standard. I used my quirk to glamour a fire over some of the bags of weed and other druggy-bits they hadn't packed yet. A worker screamed something about not wanting to lose another finger and tried putting it out with a towel - I tried to project more fire onto that next, but they didn't feel the heat and realized it was all fake - by then Miruko had kicked him unconscious. Dude was young, sixteen or seventeen I'd guess."

"The hell's wrong with his fingers?" Bakugo asked without looking up, placing the green peppers on the mini-grill with tongs and giving the hissing beef a stir.

"He was missing two, removed for failures, apparently. Pinkies. They took them in joints. I thought that practice died out with the Yakuza."

She saw Bakugo shake his head, precisely rotating the veggies, "Nah. Even with Overhaul and the rest of his boys in prison, the customs won't leave that easily among wannabe-punks. The Australian syndicates are moving in to fill the gap also - too early to tell what they'll bring for flair."

They lulled into an awkward silence at that point, the soft clatter of cutlery and sound of cooking food permeating the apartment. Camie inhaled deeply as Bakugo added spices along with the minced green onion, cilantro, and rice to the cooked beef, her stomach growling in response. She could hear the rough smile in Bakugo's voice, even if he didn't show it. "Grab anything on patrol earlier?"

"A bit. Street food, quick stuff. Hardy, able to eat on the go." She replied. Miruko liked to be efficient when on-duty, anything that required a bowl or tray was frowned upon. The woman preferred wraps, burritos, gyros, and the like, and Camie had accommodated.

"Yeah. She was like that with me, damn minimalist she is." He set plates down on the coffee table, soon followed by forks, there was no point in trying to eat this dish with chopsticks. Glasses of water were next and then Bakugo returned a moment later with a steaming tray of stuffed peppers. The grill had singed a grenade pattern in the peppers, the cheese capping the dish still bubbling with the heat. Bakugo's share looked especially molten with a generous glaze of hot sauce. He sat, doling out her portion first. They both murmured "Itadakimasu!" in thanks.

Camie cut a pepper, shoveling in a mouthful to chew slowly. The beef was mildly spicy, the green onions caramelized and with little crunch, with little flakes of cilantro spaced between and the gooey cheese holding onto the top of it. She didn't realize just how hungry she was and took another bite as soon as the first was swallowed.

"Slow down, don't you choke on me."

She looked up to see Bakugo watching her thoughtfully, a scoop of food lingering in front of him. At her nod, he smiled roughly before eating. They continued quietly, honestly not inclined for small talk when they were this hungry, and with the issue-at-hand hovering like a ghost, that suited them just fine for now. Soon the plates were cleaned and stuffed into the dishwasher by Bakugo, who turned back towards the couch arms crossed.

"But you didn't ask me home over some two-bit punk's mangled hands." At Camie's silent nod, he stepped over and sat next to her on the couch, leaning back while keeping his attention firmly on her.

"Right. What then?" His expression was his usual neutral, soft, scowl. Camie had always been charmed by her bae's 'resting bitch face'. Now though she knew he was in full-tactical mode, ready to assess the situation. "And don't wave it all off; I know when you're damn-well spooked. You haven't called me by a pet name or used much of any slang at all tonight, Camie."

She sighed, deeply and soulfully, "Like I said it was a dream, started out well enough..."

"But?" he added, his usual impatience reigned in when around her, at least in serious moments like this.

"Cutesy stuff, nonsense. Friends, memories, fantasy." She almost laughed at his quirked eyebrow, "I said fantasy, not _fantasies_."

He snorted, gesturing for her to continue.

"All good, happy-fun-times, and such. But then..." she swallowed as the memory of the nightmare came flooding back, that grinning face in her mind's eye. "Toga showed up."

Aside from his eyelids widening in realization, Bakugo didn't move. Arms crossed, he waited for more, and Camie's eyes lingered on the patchwork of faded scars along his upper arms.

"She..." her voice broke then, "She killed you Katsuki."

He responded with a shallow nod of acknowledgement, "Yeah, that's a possibility with our jobs. She tried to fucking gank me on the island during the Missile Crisis. Now she's dead." He added, matter-of-factly. Bakugo tilted his head, still watching her, "C'mon Cam, this isn't about some dream. It's something the dream reminds you of." He didn't bother asking if he was right, he knew he was. They locked eyes for a long moment, Camie drinking in the deep crimson of his irises. In this low light, they were almost hypnotic.

Finally she said what had been scuttling around her mind all evening since the nightmare: "The... license exam."

And at this, the dam broke. In the days leading up to the Provisional License Exam. Toga Himiko had drained pints of Camie's blood to regularly ingest and take on Camie's appearance and pose as her at Shiketsu. Camie had told the authorities her time in captivity was spent in a coma-like state, unaware of the passage of time and with no memory of any events that had occurred. This had all been a lie. She'd only told the truth to less than a handful of people - her parents and the detectives who interviewed her...

There was no coma, no blackout. Camie had been conscious for most of the time she was in Toga's capture, aside from fitful sleep. Tailed from her initial meeting with Toga back to her student apartment, Camie found herself drugged by the shorter girl and conveyed to an underground location. Some threadbare basement safehouse that the League of Villains had stashed away. Camie had been the only occupant, chained to the wall by her ankles. A drug was regularly injected to keep her vocal cords slack, effectively muting her until it began to wear off after every five hours or so. Even then she could only croak out rough replies, not loud enough to attract passerby. Camie doubted the safehouse was close enough to any pedestrian traffic to call for help anyway, even if she could. Specific tranquilizers were also administered; keeping her legs asleep and preventing her from escaping should she ever manage to unshackle herself. She'd endured hours of agonizing cramps when those wore off.

Stuck in the grungy, dim, light of that basement, Camie had been given a foam camping mattress to awkwardly curl up on when sleep took her, and a steel bedpan to relieve herself with. Toga would arrive several times a day, unlocking the heavy iron door of the basement, throwing it open with a cheerful hello and spring in her step. She'd then take Camie's blood, pints at a time, sometimes using her portable needles to draw from Camie's arms. Other times, Toga used her teeth, latching onto Camie's wrists to suckle like a lamprey or leech.

These direct feedings were the worst, not only from the horrid feeling of Toga puncturing Camie with her fangs - but also what occurred after. Toga would stand, often with a giggle, and lick the stray blood from around her mouth or wipe it with her sleeve and activate her quirk. Goopy slime, the colour of vanilla pudding, would secrete from Toga's pores, rapidly covering her body like an undulating shell that would then change colour and shape. In a moment, Toga looked exactly like Camie, sounded like her too, often with a smile and some idle comment. She'd then leave, filled blood vials in tow, a chipper farewell over her shoulder to the captive girl chained to the wall. Sometimes Toga would come back, either as herself or Camie's visage, and feed her by hand. It was always lukewarm microwaved rice porridge, accompanied by a store-bought water bottle the vampiric girl would hold for Camie to drink from. These moments of activity capped long stretches of boredom; Camie alone with only the buzzing of the weak lightbulb to break the monotony.

She'd try sleeping, until she could sleep no more or had to use the toilet; but this was only partially effective. Mostly Camie worried, afraid for her life and whatever Toga was doing out there in the world using Camie's identity and looks. What if Camie's parents called? Would they be able to tell if Toga was an impostor? Would her classmates like the polite Nagamasa, or stuck-up Seiji? Would _she herself_ be blamed if Toga killed anyone or was part of a League attack when using Camie's looks? Would Camie find herself on trial, sobbing people pointing fingers to her for their losses and misfortune? What then? Expulsion from Shiketsu, her dreams of becoming a Hero shattered? _Prison?_

These thoughts, and more, plagued her in her waking moments then. Until that final, fourth, day when Toga arrived looking pleased with herself. Camie soon found herself with a bag over her head, drugged unconscious, and then awoke in her small apartment with no Toga to be found.

She told campus security, claiming she'd been unconscious the entire time during her capture, and the Camie they'd seen around wasn't her. The school contacted the police, who collaborated her lie with her classmates. Hairy Nagamasa had supported her claim, pointing out just how off the 'Camie' they'd had in class and at the exam. They'd chalked up her change in character then to just nerves - the pressure of the provisional license curbing out all her usual slang and bubbly demeanour. Her lie had been accepted but brought about a whole new series of concerns by authorities. She'd been checked for signs of abuse and sexual violence; and aside from the needle and fang marks, there was none. The police interviewed her, explaining the antics Toga Himiko had been up to while looking like Camie. Aside from reconnaissance for the League and infiltrating the exam grounds to harass Izuku Midoriya, and plenty of indecent exposure, Toga had kept her nose surprisingly clean. No deaths, no thefts, no terrorism. Camie was beyond relieved, and at last let the detectives know the truth.

Keeping her real story secret turned out to be part of a plan to counter the League's activities and any villainous sympathizers they may have. If it were revealed to the press just how much Camie remembered about her time with Toga, it would most likely plant a target on her back and those of her classmates and parents. So the story of her coma was made public and Camie was free to return to her studies, being granted permission to retake the exam when the time came. Shiketsu took the abduction of one of its students very seriously and effectively doubled security measures to rival that of U.A.'s. It was no easy road getting back into the swing of things; she sought the help of a psychologist, called her parents back home even more so than usual, and underwent extensive martial arts and gymnastic training. She was also under shadowed police guard, an officer monitoring her for a month after the incident before it was determined her chances of being targeted again had ceased. Still, she'd get a call from a detective occasionally to check in.

Then she retook the exam, passing it and first meeting Katsuki Bakugo in the process.

Camie told him all of this, a torrent of words crashing against him. He endured as best he could, his expression darkening as she explained the specifics of her captivity. His face softened, a bit, as she went on to explain the post-capture process and all she did to make up for it.

"And... I suppose Toga appearing in my dream opened all that up again." Camie finished, huddling her knees to her chest there on the couch, staring off at nohing.

Bakugo sat there, processing everything. After a long moment, he let out a deep sigh.

"I have never been more proud to have killed someone than I did that bloodsucking bitch."

Suddenly Camie found herself scooped, encircled by Bakugo's toned arms, her head resting on his chiseled chest. A kiss from rough lips was planted on her forehead before he rested his chin on her head. He rocked her, gently, back and forth - the musky, chemical, tang of his nitroglycerin sweat gracing her nostrils as she uncurled her body to better cuddle against his.

After a few more moments of this, Bakugo began to speak again.

"The League captured me during their attack on U.A.'s training camp during Summer break."

Camie looked up at him but didn't otherwise move. Bakugo didn't usually go into his own brief kidnapping by the League. The incident had occurred before hers and was made public due to just how witnessed it had been. Perhaps he saw no need to tell people, assuming instead that they'd seen the news coverage from years before. More likely it was simply that most people knew better than to ask a hothead like him. Camie hadn't questioned him on it before, seeing it as too prying and pointless if he didn't volunteer the information willingly.

"Two days." Camie could feel his anger at the memory rumble in his voice, "Two days stuffed on-and-off into a fucking pearl thing by that masked bastard..."

Bakugo recounted his captivity in the League's bar-based hideaway. They'd sought to recruit him, seeing his actions during U.A.'s Sports Festival as a sign he could be swayed to their cause. Sure, being labelled as 'villain material' by hero society at-large stung; but it helped when he'd been granted internships by heroes like Best Jeanist, and later Miruko. Still, Tomura Shigaraki tried to convince him of the noble intentions of the League: to do away with putting heroes on pedestals and the rigid hero society as a whole. When he was being ranted at by the rot-spreading maniac, Bakugo was handcuffed to a chair. Otherwise the melodramatic Mr. Compress, stage magician and the League's jailer, would entrap Bakugo in a marble.

Inside the compression, Bakugo explained how it was sightless, soundless, and cold. It had no sense of gravity. It had reminded him of sensory deprivation tanks - and would have even been considered relaxing if not for its sinister use. Bakugo lost all sense of time when stuck there, and feared he'd go mad. It reminded him uncomfortably of when he'd been captured by the slime villain before enrolling in U.A.: unable to move, caged on all sides at the whims of another.

He'd be released around mealtimes, shackled to the chair. Toga saw to his needs, and Bakugo chillingly recalled how she's fed him lukewarm canned stew using her knife as a utensil. She'd oftentimes wiggle the blade when he tried to snag the food from it. Toying with him, nicking his lips and gums, or sliding in through the bite to prod his tongue or scratch the roof of his mouth. One time she'd twisted the blade when he swore at her, cracking a tooth. It wasn't sanctioned torture, just some sick bitch's precise pass time. Toga would give him water mixed with lemon juice or salt, adding sting to the injuries she gave him. She'd said something about it being punishment for his bullying of Izuku Midoriya, a subtle hint to the girl's dangerous obsession with the green-haired boy.

Bakugo explained how he too had to use a bedpan to relieve himself but didn't even have the luxury of using his hands. Toga helped with that as well, nonchalantly undoing his pants to give him room and maneuvering him into position. She made a point to turn around, the only privacy he'd get, waiting for him to finish as she flipped her knife end-over-end in her hand. He recalled how she's begged Tomura, repeatedly, for permission to stab Bakugo: to cut him and bleed him, to subject him to whatever tortures her twisted mind could come up with. Tomura had denied her every time, not out of sympathy, but simply to ensure Bakugo would remain complacent and cooperative.

After two days and his eventual rescue by All Might, the rest of the raid team, and his classmates; Bakugo found himself interrogated by the authorities much like Camie had. They questioned him on any and all details he could remember of the League's plans, any hint as to their whereabouts, and any mention of additional members out in the field away from base when the raid had occurred. Bakugo answered sullenly, wanting to finish the interrogation and be allowed home to his parents. He'd had to endure house 'arrest', more or less so he could be kept under the watchful eye of the police in case the League attempted another kidnapping. Bakugo suspected that the interrogation and house arrest to also be subtle ways of gleaning his loyalty - if somehow, he had actually wanted to be recruited by the League.

"I kinda thought it might be the end, y'know?" He commented quietly, still hugging her. "Like, because of me so many people wound up hurt - the people in the local ward, Jeanist, even Deku and the others. As if the cops thought I'd invited it somehow, and I'd willingly asked for the League to come get me." He swallowed, and Camie felt his Adam's apple bob at her temple, "I wondered, before All Might and Aizawa came by to ask my folks if I could live at U.A.'s dorms; wondered if I'd be expelled, out on some sort of watch list, or even fuckin' prison for conspiracy or some shit." Camie slowly pulled away, still seated in Bakugo's lap, looking into his eyes. They weren't misted over, like most other peoples would be, only hard, flinty, determined as he recounted the memory. Camie then understood. Like her, he'd used his experience as a step forward, to propel himself upwards towards his dream of becoming a hero. To fight back against evil and ensure such a horrible experience wouldn't be shared by others.

"Oh Baku..." Camie said softly, her pet-name for him earning a twitch of a smile in the corner of his mouth. "We both got shafted by those jerks, didn't we? But we made the most of it and succeeded. Here we are, and where are they? Rottin' in the ground or in a cell." She leaned in close, her nose almost touching his. "I should thank you. In a way, you avenged me."

He quirked an eyebrow, "...For Toga? On the island?"

She nodded, "Horrible isn't it? Celebrating the death of someone, even a villain like her. It isn't a feeling a hero should be having, but... I get a sense of pride when I see you, my Baku- _bae_. Not only for all your heroics, all the deeds you've done in the name of peace. But also for putting my captor six feet under." She smiled sadly, "I must sound a freak, like her."

"Like hell." Bakugo snaked an arm around her back to pull Camie firmly against him for emphasis, "That leech might've taken your look for a time, but having those thoughts and regretting them proves you're nothing like her. Nothing like a fucking mass-murdering villain bent on world domination. You're quirky and confusing, an oddity; but a saviour to others. Hell, girl." He leaned in, breath hot on her face, "A saviour to me."

He kissed her then, expertly from so much prior practice. His lips demanding and strong, matched by hers in equal measure. After a long, _tough_ , week of work, it was so satisfying to just let loose like this. As she reciprocated, Camie's hands rose to rest on his shoulders. His free arm moved up to trace a lock of her honey-blonde hair from her face, not breaking the kiss. They broke apart after a few more moments, faces flushed, breathing deeply.

"Well..." he husked, mouth curled in a grin."You're feeling better."

"More than better, _Bae_." Camie replied, diving back into his embrace and crashing her lips to his again. The tenderness was still there, Camie emanating the love that she felt for this man. Something else rose with it, a sense of heat and passion. Her tongue found its way into Bakugo's mouth to slather against his wantonly. He didn't recoil at the sudden intensity Camie brought with her, a slight widening of his red eyes the only sign of him being caught off guard. To be honest, going further with her tonight wasn't even on his mind when he'd come home. He'd assumed she'd be too tired from work. Their talk had afforded Camie a second wind, and the blonde woman intended to cash in on it.

His powerful fingers found Camie's bare hips, sinking delightfully into the plush softness of her thighs as Bakugo hefted her further onto his lap. He straightened as he did so, shifting on the couch to better support them both. All the while they continued their kiss. Bakugo's tongue undulated against hers, wrestling it, not to be outdone or seen wanting even in the battle of love. Her hands moved down from his shoulders, running them along the powerful contours of his back. Bakugo prided himself on balancing his physique, sticking to an athletic build rather than grind himself to pure bulky muscle. Camie appreciated this, not only from a purely physical standpoint, but a practical one as well. Bakugo relied on mobility as Ground Zero, as one of the top combative heroes in the eastern hemisphere. He didn't need to be an overly muscled beefcake to succeed when the overwhelming power of his quirk would tip the scales. Besides, Camie liked her beefcakes _lean_.

For his part Bakugo traced his hands up along the smoothness of her thighs and hips, the sensation eliciting a shiver from Camie, moaning into his mouth. His hands shoveled under the swell of her ass, not groping - not yet at least. He lifted her up as a silent offer, and she uncrossed her legs to rest her knees on either side of his pelvis in agreement. Camie pressed herself firmly against him, her trim body meeting his washboard abs. Her breasts heaved with her breath, deep and controlled as their tongues grappled. Eventually Camie pulled back, a brief string of saliva connecting her tongue to his. The thread broke to spatter unnoticed down between them. "Baku~" Camie cooed, her eyelids heavy as she roughly ground her hips against him, her hands now framing the sides of his waist. She could feel it now, the fabric of his pants starting to tent as his arousal rose to the fore. She grinned, heady, "Is that a rocket in your pocket?"

He snorted, stifling a chuckle, "Hell's sake girl." His eyes gleamed expectantly.

Slowly, Camie's fingers slithered down to his waistband, hooking inside and inching along to the front until finding the button, unsnapping it to peel the fly apart. The material was heavy and thick from the Kevlar weave, and insulated to keep his sweat reserves up. Just because 4/5ths of the world's population had powers didn't mean guns weren't a threat. Camie beheld his boxers beneath his wargear. They were simple black, with an orange X pattern stretching presumably from the hem to meet and cross over the now-straining orange button capping his arousal. He was only half-mast.

Her eyes flashed to his, and he gave a small nod. Camie's smile turned coy before shifting and straightening out her legs, catching the edge of the coffee able and scooting it clear. Now with ample room to play, Camie slid from his lap, tugging his pants down as she did. Bakugo took his sleeveless tee off, crumpled it, and chucked it to the far corner of the room. His gaze didn't leave Camie as she finished removing his pants, the pair soon following Bakugo's top in a heap near the TV. She turned her attention to the bulge in his underwear, her petite hands sliding into the material. "Mmm... no cup tonight, _bae_?"

"Was wearing one, but I had to piss after the robbery. Stowed it then."

Camie nodded before fishing his full package from its confines. One hand gently wrapped around his semi-hard shaft, giving the hot organ a few jerks to coax more stiffness. She licked her lips at Bakugo's gasp and, with a murmured 'Itadakimasu', gobbled his length. She felt him swell a bit in her mouth, growing ever harder as she began to bob her head. Her tongue cupped its underside, saliva slickening the process and adding wet slurps as she blew him. Bakugo groaned as he reached full-mast in her wonderfully hot mouth. Camie gave a lewd moan at this, humming along his length and only adding to the trill of pleasure. Greedily she sucked, taking him a bit deeper with every piston-movement of her head. His shuddering gasps egged her on even as his hand reached out to sweep some of her hair away from the action. Her hands rested on his muscular thighs, groping them as she began to deepthroat her love. There was no gag reflex, Camie trained herself well as she managed his full, throbbing, length. Her nose met his spiky pubic hair, breathing deeply of his natural musk. Bakugo made it a point to keep clean and she took in a slow, savored, lungful of the scent of his mango bodywash. His hand moved up to rest on her head, guiding and coaxing her ministrations. Her movements grew more rapid, in-tandem with his as he thrust his hips ineffectually to match her. Camie was managing his entire length now, the cap of his helmet nearly leaving her mouth before she precisely sucked back down to his base again and again and again.

"Unf... _Cam_..." Bakugo managed through gritted teeth, looking down to find her eyes locked on his even as she moved. The stormy orbs looked downright luminous in the half-light of their apartment, filled with gratitude and love. "I'm... I'm gonna~!"

She smiled around his shaft, slowing down before easing off of him. A generous dollop of her spit dribbled off of his _aching_ tip to patter down to her t-shirt - which she practically tore off in her haste to bare herself. In a moment he found his cock pressed between the marshmallow swells of Camie's Double-Es. He loved it there, nestled in the warm hills. He took no small amount of pride at having one of the most stacked girls in their little hero clique. Not that he'd care to reveal it. Camie was only ousted in size by Momo Todoroki, and even then, not by much. And there stuffed between Camie's baps, hers felt even bigger to him.

They paused there, catching their breath for a moment and let Bakugo's near-orgasm plateau, then recede. Camie grinned before she resumed, this time seizing her breasts in her hands and pumping them slowly up and down around him. Bakugo tilted his head back with a groan at that. She was busty heaven, her plump clouds squeezing him tight. Not stopping there, Camie lapped her tongue against his helmet, dabbing at his slit as pre-cum gingerly seeped forth. His hips bucked occasionally, attempting to counter her movements and add just a bit more friction to it all. Mostly Camie just rubbed her baps around his pulsating length, sometimes slowing down or speeding up; or alternating her movements to move her tits opposite of each other, or sometimes together in-synch. Eyes heavy with lust, she smiled up at him, knowing he enjoyed every moment.

Bakugo gave a shuddering groan, dizzyingly looking back to her, his look almost pleading.

"Alright _bae_." Camie cooed, bobbing her breasts more forcefully against his dick, "C'mon... c'mon... c'mon... Gimme dat Baku-go-gurt..." she grunted, milking him.

He managed to choke out a chuckle at her antics, arching his hips up so his tip could escape her pillowy embrace just as he came. She anticipated this, lowering her head, mouth wide to catch the first spurts of his pearly seed before releasing her baps and slurping down his spasming length. Soon his cream filled her mouth, forcing her to swallow it, timing herself to his waning spurts. Not a drop escaped her. Slowly, _oh so agonizingly slowly_ ; Camie pulled her face away from his still-hard cock; plush lips still firmly wrapped around the shaft. She released him with a wet ' _shluck_ ', mouth still shut. She took a moment to compose, then swallowed. Bakugo set his gaze on her throat as she did so, a blush creeping along his face. She opened her eyes to regard him, looking like an angel who fluttered to earth: breathing heavily, body beaded with sweat, her honey-blonde locks matted to her brow. Timed with his heartbeat, his cock hardened further. Camie smiled.

"...Baku- _bae_ , can't call it a night just yet..."

Bakugo growled in agreement before scooping her in his arms. Camie gave a short squeal of surprise as he hefted her up over his shoulder; soon turning to laughter. His clamped his hand firmly on her butt, groping a cheek though the material of her panties. Bakugo said nothing as he carried the giggling blonde down the short hall to the bedroom. Not bothering with the lights, Bakugo plopped his girl down on the mattress, removing his boxers to stand at-attention before her. "Ready?"

Camie stifled her laughter. "Yeah, give me a sec, _bae._ " She crawled to the nightstand; making a show of wiggling her rump as she moved, causing the yellow 'Bombshell' stretched across her ass to bob and dance. She just knew his eyes were following it. She fished in the drawer for a bit before removing a ribbon of condom packets. Plucking one from the strip, Camie tossed it to him.

"Just one?" Bakugo sounded annoyed.

Camie smiled sadly, still looking over her shoulder at him, "Sorry _bae_ , I totes love you - but I'm cashed after today. One round."

He didn't protest, simply nodding firmly before peeling open the wrapper. He blinked at the pattern before looking back to her. "Not everything has to be pineapple-themed, girl." He sighed before capping his tip and rolling the grenade-patterned rubber down.

She cheekily stuck out her tongue, "Hush, a missile pattern would be in totes bad taste. Besides, I thought you'd like it. Would totally be in-theme if we ever decided to rail in-costume."

He mulled this over; standing there, hands on his hips with a cock covered in olive-drab. "Fine, but we'd have to use fully repaired gear. I don't want Glasses' wife asking questions if she does repairs."

"Deal, even if that means not being able to fuck you rough after a battle. But, just imagine _bae_ , you and me all dirty after stomping some ne'er-do-wells. Riding that adrenaline high, you filling me with that hot, throbbing-"

"Alright," Bakugo huffed, "We'll talk about it later." Camie's smile curled, vindicated at seeing his dick throb at her suggestion.

She beckoned, ass in the air invitingly, "Enough gabbing, C'mere and fill me Baku~".

He crawled and pulled her to him, his shaft bopping her thigh with the movement. Wriggling his thumbs under the waistband at her hips, Bakugo tugged the garment down over the hump of her butt and let it drop loose down to her knees. He entered then, and Camie's pie was a wet, plush, vice that snugly accepted his pole. She gave a breathy gasp, eyes widening slightly as his length dove deep. She felt his chest meet her back as he bent over her, doggy style. Rather than anchor his hands on her shoulders for support, they reached down to frame her on either side. His hot breath graced her ear before his smooth cheek nuzzled hers. Slowly, as if in revenge for her languidness in the paizuri and fellatio earlier, he slid more of his turgid length inside. Camie moaned as felt him reach balls-deep, his sack wobbling lightly against her inner thighs. Arching her back, thrusting her breasts out and pressing her hips and ass more firmly against him, she gave him the go-ahead.

Slowly at first, Bakugo began to thrust, inching himself out before driving himself back in again, accompanied by Camie's lustful, wordless, cries. She orgasmed, the first of several times. His pace quickened, then slowed, much like what she did to him earlier, and a soft _shlick-shlick-shlick_ accompanied his movements. Camie's gasps and moans were punctuated occasionally by a grunt from Bakugo, but he otherwise remained silent and let her fill the room with the sound of their lovemaking. His balls began to tap ever more urgently against her as he drove himself deeper and faster, feeling his climax steadily begin to mount as Camie rode through the haze of her... sixth -seventh?- orgasm.

Camie's chest heaved with her breathing as she rocked herself back against her boyfriend's piston hips. Climbing the heady peaks of pleasure, Camie felt a storm brewing; with her prior orgasms being little more than preemptive thunderbolts. Bakugo must've felt the same, because he sat back to lever her upright with him. His hands manhandled her breasts, groping the mounds as his thrusts gained the benefit of gravity.

Then, it hit. Camie dropped her pelvis down and went rigid as she came. Her head tilting back onto his shoulder, mouth open in a wordless howl. Bakugo let out a stuttered _"Oh fuck!"_ before erupting himself. His cock shuddered around her orgasmic torrent, ballooning the condom within her. After several wonderful moments of riding the aftershocks, they parted in a sweaty heap. Camie flopping forwards as Bakugo fell back, his softening rod taking the limp, intact, condom with it. They lay there catching their breath, dizzy in the afterglow of their love. Slowly, Bakugo managed to heave himself up, gingerly plucking the creamy rubber off of his pud before tying and hucking it towards the trash near the nightstand. It almost missed, landing with a slap on the rim, and dangling half-outside before slowly sliding out from the weight of his seed to plop down to the floor.

"Shit." he snarled, too tired to get up and dispose of it.

Camie managed a soft laugh at the scene. "Save it for morning, _bae."_

"Hn. Sure. Fine." He huffed out before snuggling up to spoon. He cracked an eyelid at the darkness beyond their half-drawn blinds. "Not too far off though."

"It's a day off, we can sleep in. Totes deserve it." Camie cooed, her hands tugging his around her waist in an embrace.

His lips graced her neck in a kiss, "Yeah we do, Cam." He murmured before following her into dreamland.


End file.
